The 120,000 registered Likud party voters on Tuesday have the option to vote for the party’s election list, determining the position of the candidates with the exception of predetermined slots, including designated for women, sectoral slots, new immigrants and so forth.

The big race is between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former senior party minister, Gideon Saar, who has become a political nemesis to the prime minister. Since Saar announced his return to the political arena following a hiatus from politics of a number of years, Netanyahu has accused him of attempting a putsch to take over the party.

Saar has since accused Mr. Netanyahu of making false accusations against him, insisting the allegations are nothing more than fake news.

As is the norm, the players have been courting members, traveling around Israel and working to increase their popularity, realizing that only the top 25 to 30 slots on the list of 120 are realistic. Most are vying for getting into the top 20 to 21 slots, aware that anything over that is questionable based on polls.

There are 142 candidates competing for a realistic spot, as polls opened at 10:00AM in 113 polling stations nationwide. Each voter may select 12 representatives for the Knesset list. Polls close at 10:00PM. The votes are counted twice, at two different locations. The counting is done manually, and results are expected to be announced on Wednesday morning.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)